Diack's son questioned by Senegalese police

You are here

Share

Papa Massata Diack, centre, son of former IAAF President Lamine Diack arrives at the central police station in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, Feb. 17, 2016. Diack is accused of money laundering and alleged corruption and is wanted by French prosecutors. (AP Photo/Vincent Tremeau)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack was interviewed for more than seven hours by police in his native Senegal in connection with the corruption scandal surrounding track and field's world governing body.

Papa Massata Diack, a former IAAF marketing consultant who is also wanted for questioning by prosecutors in France, was interviewed late into Wednesday night at police headquarters in Dakar.

Papa Massata was banned for life from the sport last month in a bribery and extortion case involving Russian doping, and Interpol has issued a wanted notice for him to face corruption charges in France.

Although Senegal says it will not extradite him, he could be arrested if he leaves his home country.

Papa Massata's lawyer, Bamba Cisse, described the appearance at the Senegalese police station as a "hearing" but said his client was not facing any criminal charges in Senegal.

Police did not characterize the interview and Senegalese authorities have not said if they will pursue charges against Diack.

Wearing a long white robe, Diack arrived for questioning just after 4 p.m. He left at midnight without commenting, only smiling and saying "thank you" to a group of apparent supporters who had gathered outside.

"He was summoned by police for a fair hearing," the lawyer, Cisse, told The Associated Press.

Papa Massata Diack has appealed his life ban from athletics to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He was banned after being found guilty by the IAAF's ethics commission of conspiring to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from Russian marathon runner Liliya Shobukhova so she could avoid a doping ban before the 2012 Olympics.

Papa Massata Diack and his father are both under investigation in France for extorting bribes from athletes to cover up doping.

Lamine Diack, who headed the IAAF for 16 years, is accused by French prosecutors of pocketing more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) from bribes in exchange for covering up doping cases, mainly involving Russian athletes.

Papa Massata Diack, who worked under his father at the IAAF, was "very active" in the corruption, French prosecutors have alleged.

Lamine Diack was arrested in France last year and released on bail after being placed under investigation for corruption and money laundering. Prosecutors said they would also have arrested the son if he had been in France.

Papa Massata Diack and another of Diack's sons, Khalil, are also accused of attempting to blackmail Turkish runner Asli Cakir Alptekin a few months after she won gold in the 1,500 meters at the 2012 London Olympics, suggesting she could pay to quash a doping positive based on her blood readings.

Papa Massata Diack faces other allegations related to the bidding process to host the Olympics. Britain's Guardian newspaper reported that it had seen emails from him regarding alleged "parcels" to be delivered to six IOC members in connection with the failed bid from Doha, Qatar, for the 2016 Games.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatives of Jesse Owens and America's 17 other black athletes from the 1936 Olympics were welcomed to the White House on Thursday by President Barack Obama for the acknowledgement they didn't receive along with their white counterparts 80 years ago.

Along with the relatives of the 1936 African-American Olympians, gloved-fist protesters Tommie Smith and John Carlos and members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams met the president and first lady Michelle Obama. Obama congratulated the Rio athletes, thanked Smith and Carlos for waking up Americans in 1968 and praised 1936 Olympians who made a statement in front of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

TOKYO (AP) — An expert panel set up by Tokyo's newly elected governor says the price tag of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could exceed $30 billion unless drastic cost-cutting measures are taken. That's more than a four-fold increase from the initial estimate at the time Tokyo was awarded the games in 2013.